The Rumphi First Grade Magistrate’s Court has sentenced Gideon Mughogho, 35, to six years imprisonment with hard labour for possession of a weapon in a protected area without a permit.

State prosecutor and senior assistant parks and wildlife officer John Mabethi told the court that game rangers on night patrol in Vwaza Wildlife Reserve found Mughogho hunting with a muzzle-loading gun and arrested him.

Mughogho pleaded guilty. In mitigation, he said he committed the offence out of desperation, as he is responsible for paying school fees for his late brother’s children but has no steady income.

Mabethi asked the court for a stiff sentence, noting that poaching cases are frequent in the reserve and deterrent penalties are necessary to protect wildlife.

First grade magistrate Cuthbert Phir

See Full Page